The present invention relates generally to a set screw connector for connecting electrical conductors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a submersible set screw connector assembly having a thermoplastic insulator overmolded about a machined bus bar in an integral unit.
Use of insulated bus bar connectors for making electrical connections between power conductors is well known. These connectors include a machined bus bar formed of metallic material having apertures or ports arranged at right angles for insertably accommodating the ends of electrical conductors and set screws which secure the conductors thereto. The machined bus bar includes a thermoset rubber compound injected therearound as an insulated covering. The covering protects against accidental contact with the energized bus bar. Further, as certain of these connectors are designed for underground or submersible use, the cover may be a watertight EPDM rubber or similar thermoset rubber compounds. An example of such a connector is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,913.
A conventional set screw connector 10 is shown in FIG. 1. Set screw connector 10 includes an insulative coating or cover 12 which surrounds a substantially rectangular metallic bus bar body 14. Cover 12 includes tubular extensions 16 projecting from a front face so as to access apertures in the bus bar for receiving electrical conductors inserted therein. The cover further includes set screw extensions 18 extending at right angles from conductor extensions 16, which themselves access apertures in the bus bar 12 which are in communication with the conductor apertures so as to allow accommodation of a set screw therein to secure the conductors in mechanical and electrical engagement, as is well known in the art. Typically, the cover 12 of set screw connector 10 is formed by injecting an EPDM rubber compound around the machined bus bar.
As is common with set screw connectors, various auxiliary components, such as set screws, sealing plugs used to cap set screw apertures, and cable adaptors used to accommodate a range of cable sizes, are separately supplied with the set screw connector. These auxiliary components must be separately manufactured and formed. Furthermore, these components must be separately packaged and supplied. This is due, in part, to the thermoset rubber compound that is employed. Use of such thermoset compounds prevents the components of the set screw connector for being manufactured in a single process. Thus, the existing manufacturing processes used for manufacturing such submersible low voltage set screw connectors are time-consuming and costly.
It is desirable to provide a submersible low voltage set screw connector which allows for combining the auxiliary components with the set screw connector in a compact design.
The present invention set screw connector for accommodating and connecting a plurality of electrical cables. The set screw connector includes an elongate generally rectangular conductive bus bar having a first face including a plurality of spaced apart cable receiving apertures. The second face of the bus bar which is generally orthogonal to the first face includes a plurality of spaced set screw receiving apertures. The cable receiving apertures are in communication with the set screw receiving apertures.
A cover formed of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is molded over the bus bar. The cover includes integrally molded therewith a plurality of auxiliary components. The auxiliary components are insertable to at least one of cable receiving apertures in the set screw receiving apertures.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the auxiliary components may include cable size adapters which are insertable into the cable receiving apertures to provide for accommodation of different size cables. Furthermore, the auxiliary components may include sealing plugs which may be inserted into the set screw receiving apertures. Additionally, the cover may include an integrally attached tether for supporting the auxiliary components. The cable size adapters may be detached from the tether for insertion into the cable receiving apertures. The set screw plugs are arranged so that they may be inserted into the set screw apertures while still attached to the tether.